US6190403B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Low profile radiopaque stent with increased longitudinal flexibility and radial rigidity
Assignee: Cordis US Corp
•
Filing: 1998-11-13
•
Granted: 2001-02-20
•
Expires: 2018-11-13
Abstract
Abstract Disclosed is a comparatively thick-walled vascular stent comprising sets of strut members connected by flexible, longitudinally extending links. This design utilizes flexible links with a variety of different shapes. Adjacent flexible links around the circumference of the stent are designed to nest one into the other, allowing the stent to be both thick-walled and to crimp down without overlap onto a low profile balloon. The flexible links are attached to the sets of strut members not at the center like the “S” links of prior art stents, but off center near the end of the curved strut portion of each set of strut members. This off center attachment point allows for a more flexible link without increasing the cell size of the expanded stent. Small cell size is desirable to limit plaque prolapse into the lumen of the expanded stent and to increase the stent's radial rigidity. The relatively thin strut width with thick wall allows the flexible links to easily lengthen and shorten during stent delivery into the body while still providing each flexible link with a considerable degree of radial strength.
Inventors
- 👤 Robert E. Fischell
- 👤 David R. Fischell
- 👤 David C. Majercak
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 08:15
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61F; A61F2/00; A61F2/82; A61F2/86; A61F2/90; A61F2/91; A61F2/915; A61F2002/91533; A61F2002/91541; A61F2002/9155; A61F2002/91558; A61F2250/00; A61F2250/0014; A61F2250/0029
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
265 words
A stent in the form of a thin-walled, multi-cellular, tubular structure having a longitudinal axis, the stent comprising: a multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of strut members being longitudinally separated each from the other and each set of strut members forming a closed, ring-like cylindrical section of the stent, each set of strut members consisting of a multiplicity of strut elements, each strut element consisting of one curved end strut that is joined at a junction point to one diagonal strut with each junction point being an end point of each curved end strut and each curved end strut having two end points and a center point that is centered between the two end points; a multiplicity of sets of flexible links with each set of flexible links connecting two of the multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of flexible links consisting of a multiplicity of individual flexible links, each individual flexible link being a single undulating structure that extends generally in the longitudinal direction that is parallel to the stent's longitudinal axis and each individual flexible link having two ends, each one of the two ends being fixedly attached to one curved end strut of the multiplicity of strut elements at an attachment point situated between the center and one end of the curved end strut; and the shape of at least some of the individual flexible links being selected from a group that includes “N” links, inverted “N” links, “M” links and “W” links, wherein each of said links have at least four generally longitudinal extending curved segments.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
265 words
A stent in the form of a thin-walled, multi-cellular, tubular structure having a longitudinal axis, the stent comprising: a multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of strut members being longitudinally separated each from the other and each set of strut members forming a closed, ring-like cylindrical section of the stent, each set of strut members consisting of a multiplicity of strut elements, each strut element consisting of one curved end strut that is joined at a junction point to one diagonal strut with each junction point being an end point of each curved end strut and each curved end strut having two end points and a center point that is centered between the two end points; a multiplicity of sets of flexible links with each set of flexible links connecting two of the multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of flexible links consisting of a multiplicity of individual flexible links, each individual flexible link being a single undulating structure that extends generally in the longitudinal direction that is parallel to the stent's longitudinal axis and each individual flexible link having two ends, each one of the two ends being fixedly attached to one curved end strut of the multiplicity of strut elements at an attachment point situated between the center and one end of the curved end strut; and the shape of at least some of the individual flexible links being selected from a group that includes “N” links, inverted “N” links, “M” links and “W” links, wherein each of said links have at least four generally longitudinal extending curved segments.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
The stent of claim 1 wherein at least some of the individual flexible links are “J” links.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The stent of claim 1 wherein at least some of the individual flexible links are inverted “J” links.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
The stent of claim 1 wherein at least some of the individual flexible links are sine wave links.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
36 words
The stent of claim 1 wherein each individual flexible link has an adjacent flexible link located on each side of the individual flexible link, and each individual flexible link is nested into both adjacent flexible links.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
41 words
The stent of claim 1 wherein at least one of the generally longitudinally extending flexible links has a curved, generally circumferentially extending segment with the curve being generally parallel to an adjacent curved end strut of the multiplicity of strut elements.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The stent of claim 6 wherein at least one of the generally circumferentially extending segments is a generally straight segment.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
The stent of claim 1 wherein the diagonal strut of at least one strut element has two curved segments that are joined at an inflection point.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
95 words
The stent of claim 1 wherein a first set of strut members is an end set of strut members with one end set of strut members being situated at each end of the stent and a second set of strut members is a central set of strut members that is situated longitudinally between the end sets of strut members and the length of the diagonal struts of each of the two end sets of strut members of the stent is shorter than the length of the diagonal struts of the central sets of strut members.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
272 words
A stent in the form of a thin-walled, multi-cellular, tubular structure having a longitudinal axis, the stent comprising: a multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of strut members being longitudinally separated each from the other and each set of strut members forming a closed, ring-like cylindrical section of the stent, each set of strut members consisting of a multiplicity of strut elements, each strut element consisting of one curved end strut that is joined at a junction point to one diagonal strut with each junction point being an end point of each curved end strut and each curved end strut having two end points and a center point that is centered between the two end points; at least one set of flexible links of a first type and at least one set of flexible links of a second type, each one of the two types of sets of flexible links being connected to two of the multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of flexible links consisting of a multiplicity of individual flexible links, each individual flexible link being a single undulating structure that extends generally in the longitudinal direction that is parallel to the stent's longitudinal axis and each individual flexible link having two ends, each one of the two ends being fixedly attached to one curved end strut of the multiplicity of strut elements; and the shape of at least some of the individual flexible links being selected from a group that includes “N” links, inverted “N” links, “M” links and “W” links, wherein each of said links have at least four generally longitudinal extending curved segments.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
272 words
A stent in the form of a thin-walled, multi-cellular, tubular structure having a longitudinal axis, the stent comprising: a multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of strut members being longitudinally separated each from the other and each set of strut members forming a closed, ring-like cylindrical section of the stent, each set of strut members consisting of a multiplicity of strut elements, each strut element consisting of one curved end strut that is joined at a junction point to one diagonal strut with each junction point being an end point of each curved end strut and each curved end strut having two end points and a center point that is centered between the two end points; at least one set of flexible links of a first type and at least one set of flexible links of a second type, each one of the two types of sets of flexible links being connected to two of the multiplicity of sets of strut members, each set of flexible links consisting of a multiplicity of individual flexible links, each individual flexible link being a single undulating structure that extends generally in the longitudinal direction that is parallel to the stent's longitudinal axis and each individual flexible link having two ends, each one of the two ends being fixedly attached to one curved end strut of the multiplicity of strut elements; and the shape of at least some of the individual flexible links being selected from a group that includes “N” links, inverted “N” links, “M” links and “W” links, wherein each of said links have at least four generally longitudinal extending curved segments.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
61 words
The stent of claim 10 wherein the stent has one end set of strut members located at each end of the stent and at least one central set of strut members situated longitudinally there between, each of the two end sets of strut members being joined to a central set of strut members by a multiplicity of individual flexible “J” links.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
62 words
The stent of claim 10 wherein the stent has one end set of strut members located at each end of the stent and at least one central set of strut members situated longitudinally there between, each of the two end sets of strut members being joined to a central set of strut members by a multiplicity of individual flexible inverted “J” links.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
62 words
The stent of claim 10 wherein the stent has one end set of strut members located at each end of the stent and at least one central set of strut members situated longitudinally there between, each of the two end sets of strut members being joined to a central set of strut members by a multiplicity of said individual flexible “N” links.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
63 words
The stent of claim 10 wherein the stent has one end set of strut members located at each end of the stent and at least one central set of strut members situated longitudinally there between, each of the two end sets of strut members being joined to a central set of strut members by a multiplicity of said individual flexible inverted “N” links.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
62 words
The stent of claim 10 wherein the stent has one end set of strut members located at each end of the stent and at least one central set of strut members situated longitudinally there between, each of the two end sets of strut members being joined to a central set of strut members by a multiplicity of individual flexible sine wave links.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
59 words
The stent of claim 10 wherein the stent has one end set of strut members at each end of the stent and at least two central sets of strut members situated longitudinally there between, each central set of strut members being joined to an adjacent central set of strut members by a multiplicity of said individual flexible “N” links.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
60 words
The stent of claim 10 wherein the stent has one end set of strut members at each end of the stent and at least two central sets of strut members situated longitudinally there between, each central set of strut members being joined to an adjacent central set of strut members by a multiplicity of said individual flexible inverted “N” links.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
59 words
The stent of claim 10 wherein the stent has one end set of strut members at each end of the stent and at least two central sets of strut members situated longitudinally there between, each central set of strut members being joined to an adjacent central set of strut members by a multiplicity of said individual flexible “M” links.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
59 words
The stent of claim 10 wherein the stent has one end set of strut members at each end of the stent and at least two central sets of strut members situated longitudinally there between, each central set of strut members being joined to an adjacent central set of strut members by a multiplicity of said individual flexible “W” links.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
59 words
The stent of claim 10 wherein the stent has one end set of strut members at each end of the stent and at least two central sets of strut members situated longitudinally there between, each central set of strut members being joined to an adjacent central set of strut members by a multiplicity of individual flexible sine wave links.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
14 words
The stent of claim 20 wherein the individual second flexible links are “M” links.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
14 words
The stent of claim 20 wherein the individual second flexible links are “W” links.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
47 words
The stent of claim 20 wherein the individual second flexible links have at least one circumferentially extending segment with a curved shape, the curve of the circumferentially extending segment being generally parallel to the curve of its adjacent curved end strut of the multiplicity of strut elements.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-02-20 | 2004-08-21 | 2005-02-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-02-20 | 2008-08-21 | 2009-02-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-02-20 | 2012-08-21 | 2013-02-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |